Thursday, Jan. 21, the Niles North boys swimming and diving team celebrated their senior night at Niles West High School against the Highland Park Giants.

Varsity, coached by Seth Orlove, overwhelmingly defeated the Giants with a final score of 126 points to 52.

Junior varsity, coached by TJ Moran, finished with a commendable 81 points to the Giants’ 89.

The graduating senior swimmers include Christian Arriaga, Javed Avdic, Chase Bittick, Kevin Bobajoni, Chris Riordan, Max Wall and team captains Aaron Brown, Ian Crane, Earl Kim and Karol Mlynarski.

The seniors are leaving behind quite the legacy. “The class of 2013 re-wrote the Niles North swimming record books, assisting in the two Conference Championships that Niles North had not seen since 1967,” varsity coach Seth Orlove says. “They have raised the bar and shown what is possible with hard work, commitment and dedication.”

The energy on deck was high throughout the night. During the 400 Relay, the last event, the varsity Vikings had three relay teams lined up and ready to go. As the swimmers raced, the team on deck danced to the ever-popular Oppa Gangnam Style to cheer on their teammates.

“It’s been fun and I really enjoyed all the time spent with the team,” Riordan says about this bittersweet night. “We’ll see the team during club season and when we come back to visit.”

Although Thursday was the seniors’ last “home” meet, their championship season has yet to begin. With varsity conference for both swimming and diving on Saturday, Feb. 9, the team plans to repeat last year’s success.

“We are the returning conference champions,” Mlynarski says. “We are all motivated to push ourselves in practice and rise up to the expectations.”

Go Vikings, and congratulations to this year’s seniors on your successful years of swimming for Niles North.